Eligibility requirements (clergy)

You are eligible to claim the clergy residence deduction on line 231 of your return if you were a member of the clergy or a religious order or a regular minister of a religious denomination, who was:

• in charge of a diocese, parish, or congregation;
• ministering to a diocese, parish, or congregation; or
• engaged exclusively in full-time administrative service by appointment of a religious order or religious denomination.

You have to complete Form T1223, Clergy Residence Deduction, that has Part B certified by your employer.

If you received free accommodation for your residence, the value of it is shown as a taxable benefit in box 30 of your T4 slip. Report this taxable benefit on line 104 of your return. Claim this amount as a deduction on line 231 of your return. Subtract this taxable benefit from the amount in box 14 of your T4 slip and enter the difference on line 101.

If you owned or rented the residence being claimed, enter on line 231 the amount from line 11 of Part C of Form T1223.

If you received free accommodation for your residence for part of the year and owned or rented the residence being claimed for a different part of the year, add the amounts together and claim that total on line 231 of your return. The amount claimed for the clergy residence deduction can never exceed income from qualifying employment from all eligible employers.

Note
The actual rent and utilities paid, or if the residence is owned, the fair rental value including utilities, must be reduced by all amounts, other than your clergy residence deduction, that is claimed by you, your spouse or common-law partner, or any other person in respect of the same accommodation, if the other amounts deducted are for the same months or period. This could arise, for example, when your spouse or common-law partner claims work-space-in-the-home expenses.

If both you and your spouse or common-law partner are claiming clergy residence deductions, and provided there are no other deductions for accommodations other than clergy residence, the spouse with the higher salary should complete the calculation on the Form T1223 first. The spouse with the lower salary should then take into consideration the deduction with respect to the clergy residence for the same accommodation.

Completing your return

Enter on line 231, the amount determined in Part C of Form T1223.

Supporting documents

If you are filing electronically, or filing a paper return, do not include any documents. Keep all your documents in case we ask to see them at a later date.

Forms and publications

• Form T1223, Clergy Residence Deduction
• IT141R, Clergy Residence Deduction

Related topics

• Line 104 - Other employment income